Our new normal...

After our New York trip it was time to get back in the grind and get used to our new normal! After two weeks in I am happy to report that our new normal is GREAT! I feel so blessed to have this opportunity to work from home and have the time to still do lots of fun things with Riley!

New York wiped us all out and unfortunately Jason got super sick our first week home and Riley and I did everything we could to stay away from him. The base put him on quarters meaning that he had to stay home from work and they didn't want him to come into the hospital for risk of infecting others considering he did have several of the swine flu symptoms, one of them being a temp that reached 104 several times. He was VERY sick! I tried to do as much to take care of him but really the best thing was to stay as far away as possible. I ended up with a head cold the week after but nothing like what Jason had so we were lucky to not pass that around!

One of the nights that we had to stay away from home we went to play with Maddie and Amanda! Maddie's daddy got her a new very cool wagon so we took the girls on a walk to the park and then let them play...Riley liked the wagon at first but she was saying "out out out" as we got closer to the park. The girls loved swinging next to each other and Riley had fun running all over and playing!

When it was time to head home, Riley offered to pull the wagon home...ha! She didn't want to be in the wagon or be carried but unfortunately those were her only two choices so she had somewhat of a tantrum on the way back...she was tired and hungry!

When we got back we let the girls take a bath together and they had so much fun! Amanda made it a bubble bath and Riley thought it would be fun to eat the bubbles!

They also had fun playing together!

Whenever Riley gets to play with Maddie she assumes the role of mother and puts her binky in, helps her stand up, and apparently she thought it was time for her to bathe Maddie by pouring water over her head!

After bath time we had dinner and headed home. Riley went straight to her room to avoid Jason...he was quarantined COMPLETELY from her for about 4 days and it was tough on him but once he had been fever free for 24 hours they could hang out together. Luckily, his quarantine was over just in time for him to watch Riley while I went to a friend's baby shower so he and Riley had a Panera date and he bought her some new shades...check 'em out!

I had a great time at the shower for my friend Erin who is having none other than a baby boy...it seems EVERYONE I know is having boys except for a few...crazy! We also have played outside quite a bit...sharing popsicles or ice cream because it has been so hot. Apparently we are experiencing an Indian Summer but I'm happy to report that just today the weather has cooled off and our windows are back to being open...aaahhh!

We had a play date with Logan and they shared the chair and some pretzels!

Cooper came over to play and he liked opening and closing the cabinet door for Riley while talking on the phone...I tell ya kids are multi-talented these days!

This past weekend we attended a wedding reception for one of Jason's co-workers and let's just say that Riley and her friend Reese stole the dance floor!

Check out these girls moves...All the Single Ladies and Boom Boom Pow. I have to say that at first I was dissapointed at Riley's reaction to Boom Boom Pow because we hear that song often but mid way through the song you can notice she is standing their shaking her hand and saying "Boom Boom Boom"...so funny!

Reese's sister Avery danced a little but she was not as big of a fan of the dance floor!

Check out how patiently Riley waited for that bite of cake!

Look at me!

Riley had SO much fun!

She had to get ice cubes because she was hot from dancin' up a storm!

Awww...friends...so sweet!

So that's a little of what the past two weeks have held but our new normal is going well for everyone!

NYC...Take 2

After our fabulous day in Manhattan there was still more fun to be had! Since we got in so late at night we semi slept in and caught up on some sleep...Miss Riley ended up in bed with us all night and we all slept until after 9!

The girls went to hang out at Nani's house and get some lunch and naps while the boys went to the mall...shouldn't that have been the other way around? Ha! Jason is more of a shopper than me and he had to replace his iPhone since it was stolen so that was his task for the day! After our relaxing afternoon we went over to Frank's cousin's house to have a fabulous dinner!

The kids entertained themselves with floor hockey and Riley was right in the middle of all of it!

Here's some video...the kids played so well with Riley in the middle...she even played goalie from behind the goal!

She took a break for some Italian Ice and LOVED that!

Nani opened her presents from family that night since we knew her party would be too crazy to do presents at...here she is opening the gift Riley made for her...she loved it!

All the girls were ready to dig into the cake...in fact I believe Gaby went ahead and swiped some icing...I caught you!

Us with Nani

Riley also played the piano for us...as you can see this is a player piano that plays automatically and when they first turned it on Riley didn't quite know what to think...after a short bit she realized she could bang and take credit for the beautiful music!

All the cousins

We had another late night on Friday and Riley stayed up like a champ playing with all the big kids...she started walking around like a lost child and I knew she was so sleepy. So we headed back to the hotel with the strategy of keeping her up on the ride home, putting her in her bed, and waiting outside the room until she fell asleep. Failed plan. Jason stayed in the room but she couldn't see him and he texted me after 30 minutes of her crying "I think it's a lost cause...just come inside"...it was midnight at this point! So we all went in and got ready for bed and I let Riley get in bed with us...we had to get some sleep, right? Well by this time Riley had apparently gotten her second wind and she talked / sang/ clapped for the next hour. Honestly, it was the cutest thing ever but at nearly 1 am we all wanted to sleep! She pointed out all of our facial features, "eyes".."nose".."head".."ears", and poked our eyes out in the process. She went back and forth kissing each of us and saying "tank you" "tank you"...not sure what she was thanking us for. She sang the ABC's and Twinkle Twinkle. She lifted her shirt up and clapped her hand on her belly. She was OUT OF CONTROL! I would get stern with her and tell her to be quiet and go to sleep and then with her next action we couldn't help but crack up...it was pure insanity! Finally as we approached an hour of this I put her in her bed and she was not a happy camper...I gave her a choice to sleep in her bed or sleep with us quietly...I put her back in bed with us and she went right to sleep...just had to lay down the law I suppose! Finally sleep occurred but we were up by 9 to get ready for the party!

Nani's party was held at a great restaurant called Mama Mia's and she had a room full of family and friends to help her celebrate!

Riley loved playing with the balloons...she had a sneaky plan! She would hold the balloon and then let it go and wait for you to retrieve it for her...over and over!

Even with the tie to her wrist she still managed to play this game!

Family Pic

Bigger Family Pic

Us with Nani...Riley's taking pictures in this picture!

Me, Gaby, and Michelle

Riley eating her macaroni...she doesn't miss a good Italian meal!

Riley partied until she pooped! We tried to get her to sleep several times and she wasn't having it...there's no way this girl will sleep while a party is going on! Finally as things were winding down she was playing with the kiddos, saw me and wanted her mama. I cradled her in my arms, swung back and forth two or three times, and she was OUT! I let Grammie hold this sweet girl while she slumbered!

Me and my studly hubby!

And here he is entertaining the kids by sucking helium and talking...I love him! Well that's a wrap for our NYC trip...we had a blast...we slept very little...we can't wait to go back!

NYC...Take 1

What a trip and we did a TON our first day...on very little sleep!

We left out Wednesday night out of San Francisco on a Virgin America flight to JFK in NYC and I think that was our first and last red eye flight...at least with a child! Riley fought sleep for the first half hour and we were beginning to wonder if she'd ever fall asleep. After all each seat had a TV and a remote control so there were buttons galore to push and play with...fun stuff!

However, it was not almost midnight and we knew that we all needed some sort of sleep because we would land in NYC Thursday morning and hit Manhattan...so we took her to the back of the plane and rocked her to sleep and she slept the entire way which was great...but her parents didn't sleep which was not so great! We laid her on our laps but she was rather jumpy and we would wake up each time she moved to make sure she didn't wake up and she was a little radiator so we were quite hot with her sleeping on us. Not to mention the fact that my seat wouldn't properly recline and they didn't recline that much to begin with so with all of those factors we slept in no longer than 30 minute increments...we felt horrible once we landed.
However, the adrenaline kicked in once we arrived, moved our legs around, and brushed our teeth in the airport bathroom...and the adrenaline really kicked in when Jason's iPhone was stolen in the airport bathroom...but we had a full day planned and were picked up in a beautiful stretch white limo with our whole crew waiting for us...Nani, Jason's entire family, and my mom!

It was so great to see everyone and we all piled in and headed to Manhattan. With some snacks on the ride along with some Extra Strength Tylenol I was starting to feel like a human being and once we got into the city we fueled up with some Starbucks and all was good...we were ready to go!
We did a double decker tour of Upper Manhattan which was just so cool...this was my first time in the city and I was loving it and taking it all in!

Riley's already pointing out the sites!

Sidenote: Doing a day trip to NYC with luggage and all was a challenge since we were coming straight from the airport. I found a place to store our luggage (one bag for all 3 of us...go me) and Riley's carseat and we decided not to bring a stroller! She is within 1 pound of the weight limit for Jeep carrier so that's what we opted for and it was a great decision. She thought it was fun to be in it and she took two great naps without a fuss at all! I loved getting to cuddle with her so if she wasn't walking this was how Riley maneuvered the city!!

Nani and CJ

My mom and Gaby

Frank and Des

We saw some great big buildings...I just LOVE being in a big city!

And fascinating architecture! I can't tell you what these buildings are because we toured for over 2 hours and saw so many places but we were in Upper Manhattan the whole time so they range between 5th Avenue Celebrity Condos to churches and schools!

The gardens at Central Park...

Central Park

Gotta love NYC traffic...our limo driver actually "bumped" a car when dropping us off and it was like no big deal to him...ha!

Times Square

After our tour we opted for some vendor hot dogs and pretzels for lunch since we didn't have much time before our next tour...a ferry around Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty!

Riley liked licking the salt off the pretzel!

The LoRusso Gang

Gaby and Jason being goofy before our ferry left...apparently Lady Liberty has some B.O.!

Riley decided to put on her own show as well while waiting for the ferry...this girl is a trip!

A pretty cool boat we saw...

Where the twin towers once stood...I wish we could have gone to Ground Zero but there was just no time...just means we'll be back!

Buildings everywhere...I love it!

The Brooklyn Bridge

The Manhattan Bridge

Empire State Building

Ellis Island

Family shot before Riley passed out!

Here she is...Lady Liberty herself...so awesome to see in person!

After our ferry tour we headed back to Times Square to have dinner! Uncle Annie and Uncle Joe (Frank's aunt and uncle) were coming in from Brooklyn to join us for dinner at a family style Italian restaurant.

We had a little time before dinner and we did some people watching as it as 5:00 and the city was bustling with people getting off work...I so could have lived in New York for a few years!

We thought it would be fun to check out the Toys 'R Us so my mom, Riley, Gaby, and myself headed over there!

They have this gigantic ferris wheel right when you walk in with each "seat" having a theme from a kids movie!

We decided that Gaby and Riley had to get some toys...as you can see Riley had no trouble picking out things she wanted...her arms were full!

Gaby, on the other hand, took forever to find something she wanted...oh the pressure!

In the end we let Riley pick out two things and Gaby got some fun stuff too!

We had a great dinner...oh the food...it was wonderful!

Here's the whole gang!

After dinner we got back in the limo and headed to Long Island to have more fun!

Riley was pretty wired but by the time we arrived in Long Island everyone was passed out!

Don't worry...Jason was just pretending to be asleep and this was before we picked up Riley's carseat from where we stored it all day...we didn't let her run all over the limo!

So that was a lot for one day and no sleep, but there was much more fun to be had in the days to come.

When we got to our hotel room they had brought in a crib for Riley to sleep in, but she did not want to sleep in it since she could see us...we caved...we put her in bed with us...she did a little talking and sleeping but eventually fell asleep!